Winter Blossoms
by Elements of the Psyche
Summary: Seisen. Challenged by laFia. Arden just can't seem to catch a break. Who would love him? Perhaps, in the dead of winter, he can find a blossom of his own.


Winter Blossoms

Challenged by laFia. Write about a NON-CANON pairing. And thus, this monstrosity was born.

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It was cold.

The same thought was most likely passing through all of the soldiers' minds, except maybe Fury and Levin; it didn't seem like they minded at all.

Even in his heavy armor, Arden shivered. It would be a rough battle here in Silesia. Not only that, but there were so many mountains! Arden could barely even keep up with the rest of them on flat land.

Flat land, yes…like Agustria.

"Agustria. That's where I met _her_," Arden sighed. He could still remember when he first saw her, talking up a storm with the other troops, making some of them blush—even Lord Sigurd!

"Arden, what are you mumbling about?" Alec playfully hit him with the blunt side of his sword. "Come on, we're marching! And you don't want to be left behind here."

Arden straightened his armor out and tried his best to follow the cavalier, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

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"Alright, soldiers," Sigurd announced, "It certainly will not be an easy fight in the snowy mountains. They have a great terrain advantage over us. So, we have to all stick together, and always be on guard. Protect the weaker."

Arden couldn't be happier. With his strength and armor, it was now his _duty_ to protect his loved one. He saw her green hair fluttering in the winter wind, her slender arms crossed to keep herself warm, her body inadvertently shivering.

As he walked up to her, Alec rode up on his horse and offered his hand to Sylvia. "A lady like you shouldn't be walking unprotected on the battlefield. Allow me to be your guard," Alec offered smoothly. Sylvia giggled, and let Alec pull her onto his horse.

"I've got to be faster," Arden growled.

As it turned out, Arden ended up guarding Dew, who kept insisting that he could dodge anything that came his way, and hardly needed a guard.

Finally, Arden could take no more and yelled, "Listen, I've been instructed by Lord Sigurd to guard you, and that's what I'll do!"

Those around him stopped to turn and stare. Dew, who was cowering with his every word, squeaked, "Gotcha."

At the front lines, Lord Sigurd turned, "Hey! We can't spare a single second here. Besides, if you want to keep warm, keep moving!"

And so, the soldiers continued, Dew now complacent. Sighing, Arden looked to his left. There was Alec and Sylvia, talking and laughing together happily.

"Why can't I ever seem to catch a break?" Arden muttered. Dew looked up and noticed Arden looking wistfully to the left.

He smirked slyly, "So, you want a bit of romance in your life, eh, sir knight? Heh, Sylvia won't be an easy catch for you what with your…uh, features…but I can still help."

"You can?" Arden asked hopefully.

"Certainly! But…" Dew tilted his head to look at the sky and placed his arms behind his head, "It'll cost you."

"Oh, of course!" Arden agreed enthusiastically. "Just name the amount."

"Well, normally, I'd charge a lot more—tricky business, you see, but since I'm in a good mood," Dew hesitated, "30,000 gold."

"WHAT" Arden exclaimed, enraged.

"Well, hey," Dew turned away, "If you don't want my help, so be it."

"Ergh…" Arden growled. He searched for his coin bag, "30,000's all I've got. But I guess for love, I'll sacrifice it."

He reluctantly relinquished the money to Dew. Dew fingered the bag greedily, "Heh, and now here's my advice. Chicks love it when they know you care about them. The easiest way is spending money. Buy her a ring, a necklace, something she likes, or just something expensive, got it? Hope you have enough money!"

"But I just…" Before Arden could finish his protest, they were ambushed by a group of Silesian wind mages, and Dew dashed off.

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Arden never saw Dew again for a while of marching. Then, Noish came riding along the perimeter of the army, shouting for Dew to unlock the bridge. As Dew followed Noish, Arden ran as quickly as he could to try to catch him.

"Ack!"

Upon feeling the impact of a body against his armor, he stopped and looked downwards. His heart thumped against his chest; there was Sylvia, lying down on the snow.

_Even hurt, she looks graceful_, Arden thought.

As Sylvia pushed herself up, she scolded Arden, "Watch where you're going! Yeesh, you could have at least offered to help me up! What kind of a knight are you?"

Arden opened his mouth, but couldn't find anything to say. I'm sorry. Aren't you cold? I can help you. You're so beautiful.

By the time that Arden thought to say something, Sylvia had already left, trying to dust the snow off of herself. Claude walked up to her, "Here, let me help you with that."

Arden burned with envy as he saw Claude brush off the snow from Sylvia's perfect form.

"Are you not cold?" Claude inquired. "Perhaps I can offer you my cloak as protection from the elements?"

Sylvia protested, but Claude insisted upon wrapping the cloak around her. As the two walked off, Arden groaned.

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When the army had conquered Thove, Sigurd heard news that Silesia was under attack. He led most of the army immediately southward to try to help them. He gave the order for Arden, Bridget, Jamuka, and Lex to stay behind.

Arden, Bridget, and Jamuka decided to stay inside the castle, while Lex kept a lookout for enemy troops.

"Mighty cold out there, huh?" Jamuka shivered. "Makes me glad I don't have a horse. Poor Lex."

"I'd be a bit more worried about some of the others," Bridget remarked. "What about Azel and Tiltyu?"

Jamuka shrugged as he tried to start a fire, "Eh, they've got fire magic. Wish I did, though."

"Eden?"

"Eh, she's got Mideel,"

"Sylvia?"

"Heh," Jamuka chuckled, "Her fault."

"True," Bridget agreed, "She ought to know wearing that indecency would be a bad idea. Honestly, I don't know how she's avoided freezing to death!"

"She's got a fiery personality, though," Arden argued. "And her soul blazes even in the deep of winter. Her eyes gleam with the light of her spirit, yet she remains always a graceful flower blooming in hardship."

During the awkward silence that followed, Arden suddenly realized what he had said. He felt his face warm, and not due to the fire Jamuka had finally started.

"Arden?" Bridget started hesitantly. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Cold's got the guy delirious," Jamuka muttered as he placed her hands next to the flame.

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When they conquered Zaxon, Sigurd announced that they would be staying in Silesia until they could figure out what to do against Grandbell. There were many moans of complaint, but nobody openly protested.

It seemed that everywhere Arden looked, love was blooming. They all seemed so happy to be with each other. Even Ayra, who generally did not care much for anything besides her duty found comfort in love.

Arden sighed. Dew was probably right. There's no way a pretty girl like Sylvia would go for some abomination like him. She'd probably go after some handsome knight like Alec, or some gentle spirit like Claude.

Just then, a branch to his right caught his eye. Walking over, he noticed that there were flowers already on the branch, despite the fact that they were still in the dead of winter.

Arden couldn't help but think how they reminded him of Sylvia, beautiful and defiant in a harsh climate. An idea suddenly came to him.

He gently picked the blossoms from the branch and walked into the castle. He noticed that Sylvia was alone in the Grand Hall, practicing dance moves. Perfect!

He walked up to her and cleared his throat, Sylvia stopped and turned to him, "Arden, what's up?"

Arden could already feel sweat on his brow. How did Alec manage it so easily? Finally, he spoke, "I'm sorry about the other day. I…wasn't exactly paying attention."

Sylvia laughed. Arden thought it sounded wonderful, like the chime of bells.

"Nah, it's alright. I overreacted a bit too."

"Anyways," Arden pressed on, "I found this flower, and I thought that you would like it."

Arden held out the hand that held the pink blossoms. Sylvia gasped in delight, "They're beautiful! Where did you find them up here? In winter? Thank you, Arden!"

She took the flowers, tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. Arden stood there stunned. Sylvia laughed again, and walked off, gazing at the flower.

Arden touched his cheek. He would never wash that cheek again.

Outside, Dew saw the blossomless branch, and heard Arden inside shout in joy. Grinning, Dew tossed his coin bag upwards, catching it on the way down while whistling. He took another flower from his bag and remarked, "Well, I guess it is kinda pretty."

Fin.

This has been a proud installment of EFTWBVPMDOMHWB


End file.
